Does deletion of Bynum’s Twitter account mean trade is brewing?

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been a willing and spirited Twitter participant over the last several years — even as he’s been a controversial figure for his team.

Bynum came to the franchise as the youngest player in NBA history when he was still 17 years old. He was a key member of two NBA championship teams in 2009 and 2010. And he most recently was suspended for five games and fined $25,000 for his Ray Nitschke-style clothesline of Dallas guard J.J. Barea in the Lakers’ final playoff game last season.

Bynum always has been considered as an integral part of the franchise by Lakers owner Jim Buss, even with his frequent injuries. Buss has thought that Bynum remains one of the most important foundation pieces of the team.

But trade speculation has heated up that Bynum might be involved in a potential trade that could bring potential free agents like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

As the trade talks are heating up in the Los Angeles media, the Los Angeles Times reports that Bynum’s Twitter account was delected on Monday. And calls by the Times to his agent David Lee went unanswered.

It will be interesting to see if Bynum remains a part of the Lakers’ franchise. He still has a world of talent and he’s only 24.

But the Lakers’ management don’t like how their season ended last year. And the chance to upgrade by bringing in either Paul or Howard would upgrade their roster considerably.

It might be worth the gamble of trading Bynum for one of those players if Buss and Co. want to surround Kobe Bryant with enough to win another title this season.